Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Happy Christmas Eve! Thank you for stopping by! It's time for our Annual Anything Goes challenge. This is the time of year where we can share whatever we'd like to share - cards, scrapbook pages, mixed media or whatever craft project you want to share.

My share is 3 projects. My sister got on a kick of making sock gnomes, but she took it up a notch! She hand knitted the body and hat and then sent me a whole kit to make a gnome.

My sister also showed me a picture of a pom pom Christmas tree that she found at a specialty store for $25 - I looked at it and said I could make that! So I made a bunch of pom poms and glued them to a styrofoam cone and made my tree. I then set it on top of one my Longaberger baskets.

I have always wanted to make a snowman, so here's my version. I filled it with eucalyptus and spearmint scented epsom salt instead of rice. The socks are from Dollar Tree. The eyes are little black pom poms, his nose is felt and the made the smile from black Nuvo Drops.

We'll see you over at the TMS blog - please join us! Also let me wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I'm so excited, my son will be here in a few days. That's how I'll be spending by holiday.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Hello! Thank you so much for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and this one is by Debbie. It's lovely!

My card features dies from Kat Scrappiness and Spellbinders. I cut the trees using my Silhouette Portrait. The embossing is Pretty Plaid by FSJ.

I think shaker cards are so pretty but I'm not super fond of the dimension they add. If you know me, then you now I appreciate cards that will mail with only 1 stamp. This one is nearly that, but not quite. I admit it was inspired by a card I found on Pinterest and I adapted it to the sketch.

I cut a panel and blended on Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide ink and using a stamp from a Christmas stamp set from Simon Says stamp I stamped the dots with Unicorn White ink by Hero Arts. The shaker element is only about 3 card stock depths glued together, if that makes sense.

Please join us at TMS for this week's challenge. I'm sure you'll love working with this sketch.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's so super fun. I had a lot of fun with it and I know you will, too.

My features - well, me. So I actually got up so super early on Sunday morning because I woke up with this idea. That was one productive morning - I made a card, took a walk and made coffee all before my 9am call with my sister!

The embossing is Pretty Plaid folder from FSJ, the J and the Y are from the Joy die set from Spellbinders and the sentiment is from W Plus 9. So why do I say it features me - well because I pulled out dies and punches to make the snowman. I put all the strips on one side, it was the only way to get them into my idea for the card. I love that the snowman head is the O in JOY and I love the sparkle of the foil and glitter card stock. I hope this card helps you to look at your supplies to create something that isn't face value.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. Our latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a really fun sketch. I had a lot of fun playing with it and I'm hoping you will, too.

I loved it so much, I made two cards. The 2nd one I made first and then realized it wasn't quite the sketch (a very loose interpretation) so I made another one. And I lovey this one sooo much. My sister has gotten on a kick lately making sock gnomes. But she didn't do DIY Dollar Tree, nope, not Karin. She knitted the hats and sweaters. One is adorned with the most beautiful, rhinestone snowflake button that was $9! I wanted to play with gnomes, too, particularly since I passed on the Simon Says Stamp December kit.

The gnome is from a cut file I purchased on the Silhouette design store. It was actually 3 gnomes and I didn't make it quite like the cut file. Is he not adorable!? The hat is silver and white foiled paper from a Christmas stack I've had for a few years. I've featured it before. Anyway, it's super hard to photograph foil but hopefully you can see the shine. His snowflake shirt, I had to laugh because once I got him put together, it looked more like a Hawaiian shirt than a snowflake sweater. The sentiment is from the November Glimmer Club kit from Spellbinders. I used the red foil from the Glimmer Holiday foil variety pack.

This next card is the one I made first. It features Plum card stock from Hero Arts, the flurry background die cut plate from Kat Scrappiness and the Small Die Club November kit from Spellbinders. It's Kaleidoscope Snowflake. I cut the 3 different size snowflakes from silver glitter paper, silver glimmer paper and silver foil paper. Then adhered together. The sentiment is also from the November Glimmer Club kit and I used holographic Silver foil from the same variety pack. I love this card! This one I will probably be mass producing.

Again, super hard to photograph the shiny foil paper, but in real life, this is gorgeous!

I hope you will join us at Tuesday Morning Sketches and be sure to stop by to leave the team some love.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. I do appreciate your visit. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a really easy one.

My card features dies from Spellbinders and Concord and 9th. The paper is from Hobby Lobby and sepia colored vellum is from my stash - my sister sent it to me a long time ago.

Even though the sketch is easy, I struggled with what to do. Everything avenue I traveled for this card was just a failure. I knew when I drew this sketch that I wanted it for Thanksgiving and I knew I wanted leaves. But when it came down to it, it just didn't work out for me. You're really not seeing the beautiful swirl die behind the strip of pumpkins. But I wasn't going to scrap yet another card. I pressed on with this one. I cut the vellum using a sentiment plate from Concord and 9th - I did shorten it, it's original size would cover the entire panel and I didn't want that. I added copper washi tape to the sides of the strip so to tie that in I cut the letters from copper paper that I found in my stash. I typed the word "giving" on a word doc and then changed the font to something cute and then printed it out. I put the piece of vellum over the word and then traced it. Looks good, right? I think it does.

I so hope you'll join us this week. Maybe when everyone is on the couch in their food coma you can steal away to craft a bit.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Hello - thank you for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it is brought to us by Andrea. This is such a great sketch that will surely go into your arsenal of go-to sketches.

My card features stamp and die hOWLidays from Pink and Main. I colored it using various Copic colors and then embellished with Nuvo drops. The paper I used is from Hobby Lobby, the red glitter paper is from Heidi Swapp and the white panel I embossed using Pretty Plaid embossing folder from FSJ.

Before I talk about the sentiment I have a little story. My birthday was in August and my sister finally sent my gift to me a week ago. She gave me her Big Shot that she hadn't used in for years. I also sold an afghan/hat/bootie set I crocheted for enough money to buy the Spellbinders Glimmer machine. I have been coveting a hot foil system for so long. BTW, if it's something you're in the market for, get it at Hobby Lobby. Mine has it reduced to $74.99! Even on their last sale, Spellbinders had it for $99.99. And Hobby Lobby also had all Sizzix and Spellbinders at 40% (excludes machines) this past week, so I picked up a package of 4 rolls of Holiday foil for $8 and a Glimmer plate set of Holiday sentiments for I think around $5.

Look at how shiny! Now one thing I will say - it does not do well on embossed surfaces. I didn't think it would but I thought I'd try.

Anyway - I do hope my card inspires you and that you'll join us at Tuesday Morning Sketches.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a fun one. We also have another new DT member joining us this week so be sure to stop by and say hello.

My card features a cute little birthday stamp from CC Designs, confetti sprinkles Turn-About stamp from Concord and 9th, a die cut frame from Pink and Main and the brushstroke stripes and sentiment are from a stamp set by Simon Says Stamp.

I really struggled with an idea for this card. I played around with gray and red for a Christmas card and then scrapped that idea. I decided to color. Something I don't do very often. So I pulled this little guy out and had fun coloring. Then I went from there. This is a is very cheerful and fun birthday card that will be put away for a certain favorite little boy in my life when he turns 2.

We'll see you over at the TMS blog - I can't wait to see what you do with this sketch.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Hello! Thank you so much for stopping by. I do appreciate your visit. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's awesome! Debbie created this one for us and I totally enjoyed it. I took the sketch literally.

My card features a die cut from the Silhouette Design Store. The sentiment is a Hero Arts die cut from Navy Pier (it's dark blue not black :0) ) card stock from Raisin Boat (I miss their card stocks). I used a strip of decorative paper from the Beach Bum 6x6 paper pad from Pink and Main, Berry Sorbet card stock from Papertrey Ink. The embossing folder is rose folder from Joann's. I finished it off with some Nuvo Drops.

I cut the rose and leaf from white Recollections card stock and then colored it with Festive Berries Distress Oxide ink. I was so pleasantly surprised/pleased that this color matches perfectly with the Berry Sorbet card stock!

I hope this card inspires you to create something with our sketch this week. We'll see you over at the TMS blog - please be sure to stop by to leave some love for the team.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Hi! Thank you for your visit. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches. LJ created this one and it's a lot of fun. I actually drew it for her based on a card she created and I honestly didn't do the greatest job. But the team made some really great samples that I'm sure you're going to draw inspiration from.

My card - well, when I looked at the sketch I couldn't get Christmas out of my head for an idea. This is a really easy card and really shows off some lovely paper.

My card uses a Wintertime paper pack by Echo Park and stamps from Simon Says Stamps. The slopes are dies from Kat Scrappiness and the tag dies are from Pink and Main. The ribbon was from my sister's stash that she sent me years ago.

As I said, this is a really simple card that went together so quickly and easily.

I hope to see you over at the TMS blog - please be sure to leave some love for the team.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Hi! Thanks for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a fun one. I enjoyed working with it!

My card features stamps from Mandala Maker by GinaK and sentiment from Simon Says Stamp. We all have our "crafty idols" right? Some hang on to every word and every technique by Jennifer McGuire or Kristina Werner. And while these ladies are talented, I find my inspiration from Yana Smakula. She did a video or two where she is coloring on colored cards stock using her Copics. Well, I thought it was time to give it a try.

This card took hours! It took some time to stamp that one flower over and over and then to color it. But I enjoyed this process so much! This is gorgeous and screams Morocco to me. I love it. I wanted Fall, while I still feel that, too, I was instantly transported to my favorite Moroccan restaurant in Denver.

I realized when I was photographing my card that I forgot the ribbon element across the bottom of the focal point. Oops! But honestly, I wouldn't change a thing.

Hope to see you at TMS and please don't forget to leave the team some love.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Hello. Thank you for dropping by! The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a lot of fun. It is a little challenging, but I think you'll like it.

My card features dies from Spellbinders and paper that I've had in my stash for a while. I don't know where it came from, maybe from a Simon Says Stamp kit but I really don't remember.

The base of card is made from this lovely light gray card stock I got from Papertrey Ink. I've hardly used it and I don't know why! The sentiment stamp and the flower (that you cannot see beneath my watermark) are dies from Spellbinders and the rectangle dies are from Pink and Main. I added a touch of Nuvo Drops.

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches. This one is by Andrea and has so much design possibility.

My card features a birthday set by Simon Says Stamp and a paper matstack from DCWV called Linen Closet that I'd had in my stash for a pretty long time. I love how this turned out but I must admit it took me 3 times to stamp out these balloons before I was happy with the color and impression.

I stamped the balloons using Soft Pool ink by Hero Arts. I did use my MISTI and double - maybe even triple stamped the balloons. The outline of the balloons and the bow/strings I used Smoke ink by Simon Says Stamp. The sentiment was stamped with Intense Black ink also by Simon.

The corner pieces I die cut using dies from Concord and 9th.

I hope to see you over at the TMS blog and that you'll join us. Please be sure to leave the team comments and I'd love if you left me one, even if you just say hello.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Hello! Thank you so much for stopping by. I appreciate your visit. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's so much fun. Very whimsical!

My card features a stamp set from a previous Simon Says Stamp stamps set and the sentiment as well, but a different set. It also features little flowers from a Large Die of the month from Spellbinders. You might recognize the flowers from a card that I did a few weeks ago - these were leftover from that project. I also used this very cool embossing folder from Close to My Heart that my sister sent me. It's called Subway Tile.

You will notice that I don't have the flag element on my card that is on the sketch. Honestly, I forgot it but I also wouldn't have had the right sentiment. I made this card for that sister.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's by Debbie and absolutely gorgeous!

My card features a very old matstack from DCWV called Latte, dies from Spellbinders (leaves), Pink and Main (flower) and sentiment label (MFT). The little happy is from a stamp set by Simon Says Stamp.

I have to admit this was not the original card I made. I made another one that when I finished it - it was so busy that I felt I needed a rest! It was so bad! So Monday night I'm making something new. This one makes me happier!

Please head on over to the TMS blog to see the team's inspiration and leave them some love!

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Hey everyone - thank you for stopping by. The sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a fun one - an easy one!

My card features papers from a Simon Says Stamp monthly kit, stamps from Concord and 9th, a tiny scallop die from Simon, ink colors and Nuvo Drops by Nuvo/Tonic Studio.

This card was really easy to put together. The paper is from a 6x6 pack by Moda Scrap. I just cut it with the die cut diagonally which gave one piece for a card. Turned the die over and cut a smidge off and that was for a second card. This paper is so pretty and is my sister Theresa's favorite color combo.

I hope to see you over at the blog and I ask that you leave me a word or two so I know you were here. But, please go over to the blog and join us and leave plenty of love for our team and our guest designers.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. The latest sketch is up and this one is by Debbie. It's such a great sketch and surely one you'll use again and again.

My card features some paper that I've had in my stash for a really long time from My Mind's Eye. Stamps from the Wreath Builder set by GinaK, dies from Spellbinders and MFT and just a touch of Crystal Nuvo Drops.

I do wish the circle element was just a tad bigger but this way you can see a lot more of that gorgeous paper! The border is from the flip side of this whatever you call this paper pattern. LOL - Can't quite call it plaid but it's diamond shaped like argyle. I just call it pretty!

I hope to see you over at the blog to join in with us! But be sure to visit the team - they work so very hard to share with you week after week. And if you're in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas I'll be sending you safe and happy thoughts. Please return them! I'm in FL. I'm not afraid of Dorian but he's being shifty!

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. I do appreciate your visit. The newest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and I love this sketch.

My card features the large die of month - I think it's June 2019 - from Spellbinders. It also features a stencil I cut using the Silhouette Cameo. I absolutely love it!

I hope you love this color combo as much as I do! Who knew Apricot Appeal (SU!) and Picked Raspberry Distress ink would go so well together. I then pulled in some other old cardstock - Berry Sorbet and Sweet Blush (PTI) that I have had FOREVER. I added some green and periwinkle cardstock, too. This card, although I didn't picture it will pull up to expose a window for a hidden message. I did put some vellum on the back of the wreath. I cut out the HI from gold foil cardstock and adhered to the vellum.

I am over the moon for this card. We'll see you over at the TMS blog - I can't wait to see what you do with the sketch.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Hello and thank you for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's by Debbie. It's sure to become a go to sketch of yours!

My card features stamps from Gina K, sentiment stamp/die from Simon Says Stamp and an old paper pad from my stash. This was a very hard card for me to make. I don't like making Sympathy cards so I really struggled with this and I'm still not super happy with the results.

This paper pad has nice cheery colors of turquoise and yellow and grays. When I was done I realized I picked mostly the grays so it made this card dreary. But it is what it is and I hope my message to my friend who lost her father this past week will bring comfort and that she knows I am thinking about her.

Please come see us at Tuesday Morning Sketches blog. We'd love to have you join us.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Hello! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's such a fun one by Andrea. This one can be so much: fun and whimsical, elegant, masculine.

My card features the July Simon Says Stamp kit... again. I can't get enough of this paper and cute little bees.

This was a really simple notecard to put together. I made this while video chatting with my sisters. It was just perfect for our conversation. One sister worked on baking bread and the other colored. It was fun.

We'll see you over at the TMS blog - be sure to stop by and say hello.

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Hello! Thank you so much for stopping by! I appreciate your visit. So the latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches. There's a lot of layers - more than I've done lately, but I think you'll like this sketch.

My card features the Pink & Main stamp set and die set called Sunflowers...

I made 4 of these cards! I am planning on getting them in the mail to the ladies I write to every week and I'm sending the other 2 to my sister to send to a couple of ladies that need a little sunshine in their mailbox.

I stamped the images using VersaFine Clair ink - Pinecone. I did use my MISTI so that when I finished the simple Copic coloring I could overstamp the images. I was originally going to heat emboss but I decided I liked the bold outline as is. I used a fun plaid embossing folder by JoAnn's, dies by CC Designs and MFT Stamps and lastly some sepia vellum my sister sent me so long ago, I've been hoarding it. And then finished it off with some Dark Walnut Nuvo Drops.

Well, I hope to see you at the TMS blog. I'd love it if you left me a "hello" in the comments, too.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Hello! I'm back. I needed that extra week off to get settled into my house. I still haven't found my mouse and there's a few pictures I can't find. But for the most part I am back into a living routine. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's so simple! This is a great one for CAS cards or going all out.

I liked this sketch a lot so I made two cards. The first one features dies from Spellbinders, inlay idea technique and Oxide inks.

This one wasn't hard to make - it was actually really easy. Let's work from the base up. This is a white card base that inked up with Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide ink. The next panel is a white panel that I die cut the base layer of the flowers and leaves die. Then I embossed the panel with a dots embossing folder. I then glued that to the card base and then glued in the die cut flowers.

The flowers were made from the May (I think) small die of month from Spellbinders - these are layered flowers that are so pretty! The bottom and second layers were colored with Peacock Feathers, the 3rd layer is colored with Chipped Sapphire, the 4th layer is something Moss and the little center is Squeezed Lemonade.

The sentiment is from a little set I have from Gina K. The dies used are rectangle and scalloped rectangle dies by Spellbinders.

So I did have a lot of fun with the first card and I knew I wanted to make another one and I knew that I wanted to play with Simon Says Stamp kit again that is July 2019 kit. Everything I used is from the kit except the ink and Copics. This one was another easy one to do.

I hope to see you over at the TMS blog and that you'll join us for another fun sketch challenge.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by my blog. The newest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches. I think it's a simple and really fun sketch. I hope you feel the same and will join us.

My card features the July Simon Says Stamp kit. I love this kit and I wish I had had more time to play with it before it had to be packed up. Eventually I'll do more with it since I know I'm skipping August's kit. And maybe someday I'll have the smell of cardboard out of nose and can actually sit down to play. I miss my creativity time.

Look at that bee's face! So cute! Everything I used on this card came in the kit. The card stock, right now the name of the color escapes me - it might be Sea Glass, is one of my favorite colors. It's so pretty. The paper that came in the kit is adorable and all that bee needed was some simple coloring. The beehive die is little but packs much impact. I used Spellbinders dies to create the label. Super easy card.

I hope you enjoyed my card and that it brought you an idea or two. We'll see you over at the TMS blog. Be sure to leave some love to the team!

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Throw the confetti! Blow the horns! And light the candles! Tuesday Morning Sketches turns 10 this week! Yes, we have been working so hard to bring you new sketches week after week for 10 years. Time flies by so fast and we've definitely been having fun.

My card features the small die of the month (June) from Spellbinders, a brand new die from Pink and Main, a butterfly stamp/die from the Inspire set also from Pink and Main. Right now I can't remember where the hello die is from. I'm in the middle of packing. And then I finished the card off with some pretty silver Nuvo Drops.

I am so happy with this card - it's so pretty in person. The picture doesn't do it justice. I'm hoping I can find a better place to take pictures in my new house. If we don't get the one we applied for, there will have be another one to find soon!

Sunday, June 30, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog and it's pretty cute.

My card features the June large die of the month from Spellbinders, some frame dies also from Spellbinders that I have had for quite some time. The stamp is by Simon Says Stamp. I must admit I need a little more practice with this die - but I think this turned out pretty and shows just how versatile a sketch can be.

So here's the front of it.

I am so pleased with my coloring. It's been awhile since I've played with my Copics but I had a great time coloring this image.

Here's how it looks when you pull the tab...

I am loving the interactive dies that Spellbinders has been releasing lately! I hope you've also been inspired to look at your supplies and how they can work for the sketch.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Hello - thank you so much for your visit today. Please leave a "hello" in the comment box so that I know you were here. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a super easy one. I enjoyed playing with it so much that I needed to make two cards.

Actually, that and I still had the 2 pieces of the positive cuts laying on my desk from last week's inlaid die technique using Pink and Main's Flower Cover die.

My first card is a bit larger than normal. It's about a 5 x 6 card which also features stamps from the Delicate Flowers set from Simon Says stamp and some pretty basic Copic coloring.

I cut the ovals using a stitched layers die set from CC Designs. I finished it off with a sentiment strip and small sentiment stamp from the same Delicate Flowers stamp set. Then a few drops of Nuvo Drops.

My next card I kept it at an A2 size. I then cut out flowers from Mum Dies by Pink and Main. The card stock is Apricot Appeal from SU! and then I put some ink on them - Spiced Marmalade on the flowers, Meadow Moss on the center and some random green on the leaves.

I finished it off with some Nuvo Drops in copper. I left off the sentiment strip because I didn't have anywhere to put it.

I hope to see you over at the TMS blog playing along with us. Have a great day!

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your visit. This week's sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's by Debbie so you know it's going to be great!

My card features the beautiful Flower Cover die by Pink and Main and sentiment stamps by WPlus9 (That is All). I decided it would be fun to do inlaid die with this cover die. It took me hours to get this put together. Next time I decide this would be "fun" - someone slap me upside my head! LOL - Actually this turned out really sweet and girly and I love it....

Pink and green girly right? I started with die cutting the cover plate from white, pink and green card stock. I covered a piece of printer paper with a sheet of adhesive by Sizzix and then adhered the white piece. Then I started the painstaking process of putting in the pink and green pieces. I then die cut the flowers out, darkened one of the flowers with Picked Raspberry Distress Ink. I also used a few foliage dies from Spellbinders. I finished it off with Nuvo drops. I might have gone a little overboard.

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a fun one. And you may feel a little deja vu. We did have a sketch similar to this before and all I can say is it's caused by creative interruption. I start with one sketch and end up with another which results in two and I don't catch it until later. But hey, it's a fun one so it's okay to do it again!

My card features a butterfly die from Crafter's Companion - it came with my Gemini and I've never used it. It also features sparkly alcohol ink paper from Ranger, Pearl Alcohol inks, a sentiment from Concord & 9th and an embossing folder from Paper Studio. It makes me so sad that this was best picture I can get because IRL it is gorgeous!

I started with a white card base. Then I embossed a panel of Navy Pier card stock. Then I outlined it with a turquoise gel pen. It lost the color, pretty much, but left the beautiful shine. Then I covered a piece of the shimmer card stock with 3 different colors of Pearl Alcohol ink.

I die cut the butterflies and covered them with 2-3 coats of Platinum embossing powder by Wow! and adhered to the inked panel. This photo makes the blue panel and the inked panel look like it's clashing but honestly, IRL it works so well together. I finished it off with a sentiment strip of Elephant Gray card stock with the Platinum embossing powder. In hindsight, it should have been in white.

This angle shows all the shine and loveliness going on and you see the sentiment.

I hope to see you at the TMS blog - be sure to stop by and play along and leave some love for the team.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by and to those who left comments, thank you for taking a few extra minutes to leave your kind words. It's appreciated.

The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and this one is a fun one by Debbie. I enjoyed it so much that I made two cards.

I will be helping out Pink and Main at Stampfest in Kississimee at the end of the month. Michelle entrusted the make 'n take to me. She sent me all the supplies needed for it and I decided to play a bit further. So my cards feature Pink and Main stamps and dies from the May release.

This first card features the new flower cover die and the pansy die.

My daughter said it's pretty, but she couldn't really tell what it was. So I guess from that perspective my color choices weren't the best. I still like this card. I love love love this cover die! My card also features pattern paper from Pink and Main, oval dies from CC Designs, hello die from Hero Arts and Nuvo drops.

This second card, I turned it 45 degrees. It features an older cover die (eyelet), Bright Side stamp set that I colored with Copics and lots of Nuvo drops!

The strip of decorative paper is from CC Designs. I really loved playing with all the Nuvo Drops! This card is sooo happy!

I hope to see you over at the TMS blog - I can't wait to see what you make with Debbie's sketch.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Hello - thank you for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and I think it's a really fun one. It can be a little overwhelming at first glance, but I promise you, it's really easy.

I had fun making my card. It features stamps and coordinating dies from MFT Stamps - these are retired. But any floral image you may have will work. The sentiment stamps are from WPlus9, a set called That is All. I also used a die from Simon Says Stamp to cut the arch our of the card and acetate window sheet by JudiKins.

Other supplies: Embossing folder by Darice, label dies from Spellbinders, Nuvo Drops and I colored the flowers using colored pencils and gamsol.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Hello! Thank you for stopping by. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a fun one. I like all the elements on this sketch and honestly I think I designed around all the Nuvo Drops I have. LOL

My card features this adorable stamp and embossing folder combo that I found at Michaels for $2. Who can pass that up? I also used a couple of my Spellbinders dies, some heart sprinkles by Doodlebug Designs and lots of Nuvo Drops - well, in 3 colors anyway.

I embossed a panel with the folder. Its orientation is meant for a portrait card, but the sketch is landscape and I wanted to keep it that way for sketch and to ensure I have enough room on the card for all the elements. So I just moved it over, lined up the design and ran it through my Cuttlebug again. It did put a line in the paper but that's easily disguised. Then I lightly ran an ink pad over the embossed panel so that only the embossed part would pick up a bit of ink. I stamped the fox and colored him with just a few Copic colors and then fussy cut it out. The rest of the elements are left overs from a past Simon Says Stamp kit. I think the border die I used is from MFT but I don't remember - it might be from CC Designs. Nevertheless, it's retired wherever it's from.

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Hello and thank you for stopping by. I would really appreciate you leaving me a comment, even if you just say hi so that I know you were here. The latest sketch is at Tuesday Morning Sketches and this one is by Andrea. I think you're going to enjoy this sketch - I sure did.

My card features stamps and paper from the May 2019 Simon Says Stamp kit. This is a gorgeous kit that I'm sure is sold out by now, but the elements are available separately.

I tried my very best to watercolor the flower in the center like the flowers/butterflies on this paper by Moda Scrap. It is stunning. I came a little close. Honestly I think I would have needed liquid watercolors to get that right color match. But I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Instead of putting the sentiment in another box I just stamped it directly onto the card base.

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Hello and thank you for stopping by today. I do appreciate your visit. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and this week's sketch is one of Debbie's. It's a fun sketch and I enjoyed taking it fairly literal.

My card features a Park Lane big dots embossing folder (which is the prize this week) and stamps from WPlus9 and Concord and 9th. It's a simple card but I really love how this turned out and this red card stock, which is from Fun Stampers Journey, is a perfect red!

This card was really easy to put together. I embossed the base to give that texture and omitted the remaining layers. I also omitted the twine/ribbon element but only because when I laid out the main panel, I forgot to leave room for it.

I stamped the flowers on some die cut circles using Hero Arts ink. These made some super easy, very quick notecards.

I hope to see you over at the TMS blog and again, thank you for stopping by.

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Hello! Thank you so much for stopping by. I appreciate your visit. The newest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a fun and easy.

My card features stamps from Simon Says Stamps and sentiment stamps from WPlus9. My card started out with making the background. I die cut circles from masking paper and placed on some Neenah Solar White card stock. I then blended on Picked Raspberry Distress Ink. This matches perfectly to a gift bag I bought at Walmart.

Do you ever just create a card that you truly love? Well, I think this sketch is one that you would go to again and again, so I say, make your card interchangeable. Make up a bunch of sentiments and then when you need a card just slap on the appropriate sentiment. My second card is the exact same base but it's a get well card.

I don't usually do bright colors but this one actually worked for me! I love this. And if you know me, you know that in my world polka dots are a color.

Monday, April 29, 2019

Hello! Happy Monday. I don't know about you but the weekend sure went by very quickly. It's been pretty busy at my house. My daughter moved back home so we needed to find room for her stuff. But honestly I'd rather be a little cramped in my tiny townhouse just to have my girl home. We'll be looking for a house to move into this summer.

I wanted to thank everyone that visited my blog and played along with us at Tuesday Morning Sketches. The winners have been posted and the winner from my blog is....

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Hello! Thank you for celebrating with us at Tuesday Morning Sketches. This is our 500th sketch challenge and it is quite a milestone! We're so excited about this accomplishment that we decided to have a blog hop. Be sure to start (and end) with Tuesday Morning Sketches blog.

I'm Melissa and I've been on the Tuesday Morning Sketches team for almost 10 years. I started the team with my sisters being my design team - it actually started before that with friends Joni and Gabby on our personal blogs. I love this challenge blog, it's been my pleasure to bring you sketches to spark your creativity. Our sketch this week is a little challenging at first glance, but really it's super easy and open to so much possibility with stamps, dies and borders. Here's my card and it features stamps from April 2019 Simon Says Stamps kit and dies from Crafter's Companion. My card is really simple but I love this color combo and if you know me, I'm all about making cards that mail with a single stamp.

The prize I am offering is....

Spellbinders 2019 Small Die kit of the month

Be sure to comment here and link up your creation on the TMS blog to be considered for prizes. Yes! You can win here on my blog and the TMS blog.

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Hello! And thank you for stopping by. Our sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a great one for layers, windows, frames or even a filmstrip for a scrapbook page.

My card features the card stock and stickers that was part of the April Simon Says Stamp monthly kit. I love this paper - I don't know what color it is - but it's gorgeous.

I cut a strip of 2 1/8 x 5 1/2 inch white card stock and then cut squares out of it. It's not perfect but I'm not perfect so it's okay. I then cut smaller squares to be be the back drop for the stickers. I used squares layering dies by Tonic Studios. The 3 elements are stickers from the kit. And then I embossed some lines using my Scor-Buddy. This is such a super easy notecard. So easy, that I made another in minutes while chatting with my sister.

Same concept - I just covered up two of the windows with one sticker.

I hope these cards provide some inspiration and we'll see you over at the TMS blog. We have a guest designer this week, too.

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Hey everyone! Thank you for stopping by blog - I appreciate your visit. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and it's a great one! So much open space for your creativity.

My card features the Amazing stamp set from March 2019 Simon Says Stamp kit. I love the art work - it's so retro. The butterfly stamp/die is from Pink and Main and the sentiment label is from Spellbinders. The sentiment, in full says, "Have I told you lately that you're amazing?" - well all that wouldn't fit so I blocked it all out and just inked up "amazing."

The technique is called Joseph's Coat - it's been around for a long time. I know I did something like this when I first joined Stampin' Up! 21 years ago. I used Distress Oxide inks on Bristol Smooth card stock. I blended on 3 colors that I honestly can't remember what they were - Peacock Feathers was one of them. I then stamped the images and clear embossed them. Then I covered the whole panel with Chipped Sapphire. Once it was fairly dry I buffed the ink off of the images to brighten them up.

I got this new embossing folder at Joann's - 50% off so I used it on the pink panel. I love how this turned out!

I hope to see you over at the TMS blog and be sure to leave some love for the team.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Hello! Thank you so much for stopping by. I appreciate your visit. The latest sketch is up at Tuesday Morning Sketches and I must confess, I honestly put this sketch together drawing inspiration from dies by Spellbinders. But you know what? You don't need these dies to make a beautiful card. Just check out what the design team did with this sketch.

My cards, however, feature the dies. Here's the card the right way - this will make more sense in a minute.

This card also features paper received in a Simon Says Stamp kit and stamps from Gina K Original Wreath builder set and the mini wreath builder set. The base card is Sweet Cheeks from Raisin Boat (no longer available).

Now, this next card is how Spellbinders intended the die - but I made this to follow sketch but I didn't emboss the panels correctly so it has to be the "backwards" version of the sketch. I used an old Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Then when you open the card - you reveal the sentiment. This is from a more recent die set - January Large Die set. ~Maybe it was December. Whatever! So the die is a large word die and I had to cut it to fit on the circle but I think it turned out great!

I hope you enjoy my cards and it inspires you to create something beautiful. Like I said, you don't need these dies to create a card using this week's sketch but if you have it, use it. If you'd like to make this card and don't have the dies there are some great tutorials on You Tube, like this one from my old pal Lindsay Weirich.

Use coupon code: STMMMS93171

About Me

I am a mother of 3 amazing young adults! I am a proud momma of a Navy Sailor, a 2nd year college student and a boy entering college soon. In my spare time, I love to cook, read, stamp and make 3D paper projects. I've been a papercrafter for 22+ years and I love every minute of it. I decided I didn't have enough to do, so I also "own" a challenge blog, Tuesday Morning Sketches.
If you need to reach me, please feel free to email me at stampedbym@gmail.com

Copyright 2006-2018

All cards, scrapbook pages, photographs and text are owned by Melissa Craig. I have created the cards and pages with copyrighted material (Papertrey Ink, DRS Designs, MFT Stamps, Hero Arts and many others) and are for personal use only. I share these ideas with you, you are free to CASE the cards but ask that you do not submit for contests or publication. Also, please give credit where credit is due. If you CASE something of mine, please tell others where you got the idea. Thanks!! Happy Stamping and inky hugs.